A bone fracture of a bone such as a Tibia, a Humerus or a Femur may require treatment with a surgical implant. An orthopaedic surgeon may operate on the bone and may use the surgical implant for recreating the normal anatomy of the bone by a process known as reduction. Such reduction may be closed reduction or open reduction which relates to how bone fragments of the fractured bone are relocated. Open reduction involves surgically exposing the bone fragments by dissecting the tissues surrounding the bone fracture. Closed reduction involves manipulation of the bone fragments without significant surgical exposure. Closed reduction typically results in an improved patient recovery time when compared to open reduction due to a reduced invasive surgery of the tissue surrounding the bone fracture. The purpose of the surgical implant is to stabilise the fracture and maintain the reduction whilst the bone heals.
A bone such as the Tibia, the Humerus or the Femur comprises three main areas which are a Diaphysis region, a Metaphysis region and an Epiphysis region. The Diaphysis region is the main shaft or mid section of the bone. The Metaphysis region is the wider portion of the bone adjacent to the Diaphysis region. The Epiphysis region is the rounded end of the bone. It will be appreciated that the bone fracture may be located at any part of the bone and in any of these regions of the bone. Typically bone fractures occurring at or adjacent to an end of the bone are more problematic to treat due to the complication of being near to a joint, which has a more complicated structure.
It is known to provide an elongate plate to stabilise a bone fracture which is typically positioned by open reduction. The elongate plate has holes along its length for receiving bone screws to secure it to a surface of the bone. Such plates are usually used for treating mid-shaft Diaphyseal bone fractures and may be used for stabilising a bone fracture at or adjacent to an end of the bone. Typically the plate must be used with open reduction which means that the patient has a consequential longer recovery time. Furthermore, fitting the plate near to a joint may limit the movement of the joint in the future. Overall the elongate plate is awkward to use for bone fractures at or adjacent to an end of the bone.